1. Field of the Invention
A spearpoint with adaptor for use in spear fishing, and particularly with rubber-strap type of spear fishing guns.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Various devices for throwing a fishing gear, either by means of compressed gas or rubber tension straps, are known. The present invention relates to the spearshaft, and has general applicability to all forms of spear guns, though the present invention has particular utility with the most common. rubber strap form of spear guns, such as the Swim Master.RTM., manufactured by Voit. Representative of prior art spearpoints, and their connection to a spear shaft, are illustrated by the U.S. patents, as follows:
MARES, U.S. Pat. No. 2,833,266 PA1 MALCOLM, U.S. Pat. No. 3,045,659 PA1 MERZ, U.S. Pat. No. 3,071,883
The present invention categorically is distinguished from such prior art by a cooperation among three (3) characteristics which results in an operation significantly improved over any prior art forms of spearpoint and spearshaft combination. Firstly, the adaptor interface facilitates release of the spearpoint, to eliminate shaft breakage. Second, the spearpoint itself is configured with a smooth taper and a single barb. Thirdly, a cable and ring assembly is provided, to enable a separated spearpoint to be retrieved back through the wound of the prey with great speed and ease.
Single barb spear points broadly are known in the prior art, and one such design is illustrated by the patent to MALCOLM. Spear shaft adaptors having non-tapered shafts to fit into non-tapered spearpoint bores also broadly are known, as shown by the patent to MARES. Further, it is also known in the prior art to use a flexible cable beween a spearpoint and an adaptor. The separation of the spearpoint from the adaptor must occur immediately after the prey has been speared, so that the reaction of the prey does not break the slender spear shaft, but rather allows the shaft to slide out of the entrance wound. For example, the patents to MALCOLM and MERZ illustrate a tether cable which connects the spearpoint, which remains outside the exit wound, and the spearshaft, which should wind up outside the entrance wound.
However, it should be appreciated that significant functional disadvantages occur from relatively subtle structural aspects of spearpoint and spear shaft design. For example, MERZ illustrates a tapered adaptor that fits into a tapered spear point so that, upon impact, a wedging effect occurs between the adaptor and spearpoint, and the two parts tend to jam together, preventing quick release as the prey reacts to the wound. It has been a common experience for the inventor to discover that the repeated wedging action splits such a spearpoint, after a relatively short period of use. While MARES illustrates an adaptor/spearpoint interface which does not include a taper, MARES in turn requires a short, internal tether cable, wherein cable crimps (hidden from view) are subject to great stresses, and are not available for inspection to indicate an imminent failure. The MARES approach is for a double-barb design, which will not require the spearpoint to turn sideways as it exits the prey. MARES essentially does not allow a large separation distance between the adaptor and the spearpoint. It should also be appreciated that if a fish or similar prey has a body width thicker than the length of the short cable shown by MARES, the adaptor and shaft will remain within the wound. The MERZ interface will tend to jam, destroying the possible advantage of a spearpoint capable of accelerating laterally, to ensure divergence from the axial path which the spearshift momentum causes it to follow. Neither prior art reference discusses how turning effects cooperate with the adaptor/spearpoint interface, or otherwise address back-travel of the spearshaft out of the entrance wound. Moreover, none of these prior art spear points are configured also to allow a selective spearpoint positioning, to ensure a quick reverse retrieval, out of the prey.
In summary, the prior art has failed to recognize how single-barb spearpoint design may be mounted and tethered to guarantee both a breakaway action and a quick retrieval action. Applicant has discovered that not only must a single barb breakaway spearpoint be mounted upon a non-tapered spearshaft adaptor element, but that when the spearpoint has a hole transversely extending through its approximate center of gravity, a loop and ring arrangement on the tether cable can be used to allow retrieval of the spearpoint, simply by an axial pull upon the cable from a point outside the entrance wound into the prey.